My friend Mark took his own life this past summer.
There should be a stronger word than shocked to describe how it felt when I found out. I was at work, got up from my desk and just left to walk for a long while. My brain couldn’t and still can’t process it.
Mark Freedman was always so bright and cheery with me. He was smart, incisive, fun to talk to and knew this industry inside and out. He knew why things are the way they are better than most others I know. I counted Mark as a friend but he…
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PIAC reiterates FairPlay opposition
OTTAWA – A representative of Canada’s Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright – an alliance of Canadian telecommunications providers including Bell, Rogers, Vidéotron and others – says while its members support a regime that rewards and protects creators, facilitates access to creative content, makes investment in technology and supports educational research, the removal of exceptions added to Canada’s Copyright Act in 2012 would put hundreds of millions of dollars at risk.
“ exceptions added to the Copyright Act in 2012 were necessary to eliminate uncertainty that would restrict or inhibit the development of new products and services,” Jay…
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TORONTO – The explosion of connected devices and streaming services in the home that rely on Wi-Fi connectivity has resulted in the need for smarter Wi-Fi networks that can provide extended, uniform coverage and can serve as the foundation for Internet of Things in the home.
Wi-Fi mesh will not only “blanket a home with a strong Wi-Fi signal,” says Peter Vandenengel, president of Wi-Fi equipment tester Netperian, but such systems can also be set to automatically fix connectivity issues as they arise, centralize the control of data, media, and smart devices, as well as provide network analytics. Vandenengel provided…
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TORONTO – The Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) is asking the CRTC to take another look at its three year old wholesale wireline services decision, saying that “key corrections” are necessary to truly provide greater competition for high-speed Internet services.
CNOC, which represents 35 independent telecommunications services providers that own or operate wireline and/or wireless networks, filed an application with the Commission on Wednesday that seeks a review and variance of TRP 2015-326 and TD 2016-379 to “address aspects of the Commission’s regulatory framework for wholesale high-speed access services that will inadvertently and substantially lessen and prevent competition in…
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Leslie Sole, a Canadian broadcast veteran who left Rogers Media in 2011 after 25 years at the radio and TV broadcaster, has died.
Sole and his wife, Terri Michael, a veteran radio DJ, TV host and voice talent, were killed Monday after being involved in a vehicle crash near their home in Cabos San Lucas on Mexico's Baja peninsula. (He is pictured at right in an undated screen shot from CityNews.)
No other details on the accident, or what led up to the crash, are available.
Sole's death was confirmed to Cartt.ca on Tuesday by Tony Viner, who retired as head of…
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OTTAWA – After recently challenging the aggressive sales practices of telecom companies at a CRTC hearing in Gatineau the prior week, John Lawford was across the river in Ottawa taking another swipe at telcos at the annual conference of the International Institute of Communications Canadian chapter.
Lawford, executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, was given 15 minutes on Thursday to make his case in a presentation called “Lust, Lies and Stupidity: Thirty Years of Canadian Telecom Policy.” This time his message was specifically aimed for members of the federal government’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review…
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OTTAWA – At the International Institute of Communications (IIC), 16th annual Canadian conference Wednesday morning, we quickly got into the heart of the matter with two panel discussions to tackle the Review of Canada’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts.
Two bi-lingual panels of four people each got to have their kicks at the can for almost three hours to offer their points of view, perspectives on how the two Acts needs to change.
To structure the debate, the moderators (Cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien and University du Québec à Montréal professor Catalina Briceño) suggested that participants outline what they would definitely…
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From Right Hand Man: How Phil Lind Guided the Genius of Ted Rogers
By Phil Lind with Robert Brehl
IN 2013, HALFWAY THROUGH its mandate, Stephen Harper’s government was looking tired and bereft of captivating political ideas for the next election. It was then that the Conservative PM wrapped himself in his “Captain Consumer” cape and launched an assault upon Canada’s big three wireless phone companies: Rogers, Bell, and Telus.
He and his government were going to lower monthly wireless bills for consumers by cracking the cartel. Harper painted us as Russian-style oligopolists who feared increased competition, which was unfair and…
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VANCOUVER and OTTAWA – Rogers said Wednesday that it has improved its wireless service in communities across Metro Vancouver as well as three neighbourhoods in Ottawa as part of its multi-year network plan to bring gigabit LTE and 5G to its customers.
The upgrades will impact Rogers and Fido customers in Maple Ridge near the Abernathy Connector and at Rupert Street and East 45th Avenue in Vancouver, as well as Manotick Main Street and O'Grady, McKeown and Coker, and Orleans Village.
The company added that the enhancements will also improve the wireless experience for its business customers in these areas.
www.rogers.com
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OTTAWA – While the main governmental expert panel reviewing the Telecom, Broadcasting and Radiocommunication Acts is only now getting under way, some of the most interesting conversations on the matter are happening now in front of the Senate (who knew?!).
While CRTC chairman Ian Scott appeared today (October 30) in front of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, to talk about the Regulator’s needs, last week Canadian Communications Systems Alliance CEO Jay Thomson told the senators about his members’ (115 independent carriers who serve more than 1,200 communities – lots rural – with broadband,…
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